Rooftop Pastor on Melissa Ortega murder: 'How many before our leaders wake up? They will never wake up'
CHICAGO - Chicago's rooftop pastor Corey Brooks is sharing his outrage over the murder of Melissa Ortega, 8, who was shot dead on Saturday by a "known offender" aiming at a gang member.
"How many more will it take before our leaders wake up? They will never wake up. They don't care," Brooks said in a passionate interview about Chicago's murder rate. "This wave of violence infuriates me. There's no society, no community that would allow this and we should not either."
Ortega was with her mother walking in the Little Village neighborhood when she was shot in the head. She and her mom had come to the United States from Mexico just a few months ago in search of a better life.
So far, no one is in custody. Brooks advocates spending more money on police detectives to solve crimes.
"I am pro-police, let that be understood. I would not want to live in any society where we did not have the police, and I am definitely against defending the police," Brooks said. "Are there bad apples in the police department? Yes and we should get rid of them but appreciate and support the work they are doing."
He said that people need to "continue to vote but vote differently."
"The chaos, the lawlessness is so bad in Chicago that the criminals openly mock our police and our city leaders, and even our governor," Brooks said in an interview with Fox News over the weekend.
Brooks is spending the winter outside in a tent in an effort to raise money for a community center. You can donate by going to projecthood.org.